West Ham ‘paying for’ Manchester City drama in new Premier League reveal – Exclusive
West Ham United are missing out on Premier League money they are supposed to get for reasons beyond them, Dan Plumley has said.
The Hammers are not in a strong position concerning PSR after spending over £100million on new signings last summer and were, therefore, forced to settle for the loan signing of Evan Ferguson from Brighton in the winter transfer window.
With such rules and regulations in effect in the Premier League, finances seem more important than ever in football, meaning every penny counts for clubs like West Ham.
West Ham and Premier League legal costs after Manchester City battle
It is in this situation that a West Ham spokesperson revealed that the Irons may have to cover the Premier League’s legal costs after losing their court case against Manchester City.
Plumley has now shed light on the reality of that claim, revealing that every club in the Premier League would be affected similarly, although none of them have to pay money directly.
Instead, the clubs will likely not receive some of the money they were supposed to get from the league’s central income, as a result, the football finance expert explained.
“It’s an interesting one this. It’s essentially every club because the way it works is the legal fees come out of the central income part of the Premier League”, Plumley exclusively told West Ham Zone.
“Obviously, the majority of their operation is to distribute their income to the member clubs, so that’s how they account for the legal fees.
“They’ll just basically take it away from some of the central payments they give to the clubs. I guess it’s less a case of chipping in directly in terms of paying for it.
“The way you’re paying for it is you’re not getting as much money out of the Premier League in that given season.
David Sullivan and Co miss out on money
“So, as legal fees increase for the Premier League, and we’ve seen that in recent seasons as well, it’s happened with other instances, that’s where other clubs can lose out because you’re not getting as much back because you’ve got to help cover the cost through some of those central payments that you would normally get.”
| Team | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal Difference | Points |
| 13. Tottenham | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 33 |
| 14. Manchester United | 27 | 9 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 33 |
| 15. West Ham | 27 | 9 | 6 | 12 | -15 | 33 |
| 16. Everton | 27 | 7 | 11 | 9 | -4 | 32 |
Reacting to the West Ham spokesperson’s words, Plumley admitted that they made it seem like the Hammers have to chip in money themselves when that is not the case in reality.
“It’s the wording of it, and I’ve seen the article, it’s not misleading in that sense”, he added.
“I understand the way it’s been positioned, but yes, you’re not giving a direct payment, you’re basically not getting money that you would have had because that has to be covered to go towards covering some of those Premier League legal fees.”
Looking from the outside, it is easy to feel frustrated with the fact that the other clubs in the Premier League are essentially having to pay for a legal battle involving the league and Manchester City.
However, these rules have been in place for a while and teams are unlikely to be surprised that they have to cover such legal costs indirectly.